US savages WHO as it promises pandemic review, but China pledges $2bn

FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective mask passes by a billboard depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Belgrade, Serbia, April 1, 2020. The text on the billboard reads "Thanks, brother Xi". Reuters

Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference on the situation of the coronavirus at the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 29, 2020. REUTERS

The World Health Organisation said on Monday an independent review of the global coronavirus response would begin as soon as possible and it received backing and a hefty pledge of funds from China, in the spotlight as the origin of the pandemic.

But the WHO's chief critic, the US administration of President Donald Trump, decried an "apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak by at least one member state".

Trump has already suspended US funding for the WHO after accusing it of being too China-centric, and at the same time led international criticism of Beijing's perceived lack of transparency in the early stages of the crisis.

Health Secretary Alex Azar did not mention China by name, but made clear Washington considered the WHO jointly responsible.

"We must be frank about one of the primary reasons this outbreak spun out of control," he said. "There was a failure by this organisation to obtain the information that the world needed, and that failure cost many lives."

Speaking after Azar, Chinese Health Minister Ma Xiaowei said Beijing had been timely and open in announcing the outbreak and sharing the virus's full gene sequence, and urged countries to "oppose rumours, stigmatisation and discrimination".

China pledged $2 billion over the next two years to help deal with COVID-19, especially in developing countries.

The amount almost matches the WHO's entire annual programme budget for last year, and more than compensates for Trump's freeze of US payments worth about $400 million a year.

'LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE'

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. body had "sounded the alarm early, and we sounded it often".

When it declared a global emergency on Jan. 30, there were fewer than 100 cases outside China, and no deaths, he said.

He was addressing a virtual meeting of the WHO's decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, at which President Xi Jinping said China had acted with "openness and transparency and responsibility".

Tedros, who has always promised a review, told the forum it would come "at the earliest appropriate moment" and make recommendations for the future. He received robust backing from the WHO's independent oversight panel.

"Every country and every organisation must examine its response and learn from its experience," he said, adding that the review must cover "all actors in good faith".

Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference on the situation of the coronavirus at the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 29, 2020. REUTERS

In its first report on the handling of the pandemic, the seven-member oversight committee said the WHO had "demonstrated leadership and made important progress in its COVID-19 response".

The panel endorsed a review but said conducting it now could hamper the WHO's response to the pandemic.

It also said "an imperfect and evolving understanding" was not unusual when a new disease emerged and, in an apparent rejoinder to Trump, said a "rising politicisation of pandemic response" was hindering the effort to defeat the virus.

Azar said the United States supported "an independent review of every aspect of WHO’s response" and that China's conduct should be "on the table" too.

A resolution drafted by the European Union calling for an independent evaluation of the WHO's performance appeared to have won consensus backing among the WHO's 194 states. It was expected to be debated and adopted on Tuesday.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the WHO must become "more independent from external interference" and that its role in "leading and coordination" must be strengthened.

'OPPOSE RUMOURS AND STIGMATISATION'

China has previously opposed calls for a review of the origin and spread of the coronavirus, but Xi signalled that Beijing would accept an impartial evaluation of the global response, once the pandemic is brought under control.

"This work needs a scientific and professional attitude, and needs to be led by the WHO," he told the meeting via video.

The WHO and most experts say the virus is likely to have emerged in a market selling wildlife in the central city of Wuhan late last year. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this month there was "significant" evidence that it had come from a laboratory in Wuhan, a charge China rejects.

Australian health minister Gregory Hunt said the planned review could look at strengthening the WHO's mandate and powers of inspection, and also how to protect against "the global threat posed by wildlife and wet markets".

The oversight panel said that, for the next phase of the pandemic, the WHO would need some $1.7 billion by the end of the year, leaving a funding shortfall of $1.3 billion. This did not take account of China's pledge.

China will also make any COVID-19 vaccines that it develops freely available, Xi said.